The republic of Maldives has 200 inhabited islands in 20 atolls. As a small island nation the Maldives faces special challenges when it comes to health care coverage. The remoteness of some islands and difficult, costly transportation pose significant challenges in terms of providing equitable access to health care services, within and between islands. The prevalence of diabetes is currently estimated at 6.5%, and rising. Due to the limited access to services and information, people living with diabetes run the risk of developing severe complications such as diabetic retinopathy, which ultimately can cause blindness.At present, the health care system of the Maldives consists of five regional hospitals and 17 atoll hospitals on 23 different islands. These hospitals provide mostly curative services and acute care, and not comprehensive, chronic care, which is essential for diabetes and other chronic conditions. Diabetes-related complications are overlooked. Currently, no facilities exist in the Maldives to screen and treat diabetic eye complications.The health care system and the health workers are constrained by a lack of trained human resources, heavy workloads, and limited resources. The aim of the project is to create awareness and improve diabetes eye care in the most remote islands of the Maldives.
The project is initiated by the Diabetes and Cancer Society of Maldives (DCSM) in cooperation with Project Hope. The project builds on the general care and awareness project currently being implemented by the same partner in the Maldives with funding support from WDF (Project 200 islands, WDF09-423).The project seeks to establish awareness and improve care regarding diabetic eye complications to the most remote islands of the country. It is aligned with the structural aim of the National Health Master Plan 2006-2015 of the Maldives. The National health plan has no explicit mentioning of diabetes, but the project has the potential of further enhancing attention to diabetes and associated complications through its collaboration with the Ministry of Health.A specialised eye care clinic will be established in the capital city of Malé. The clinic will function as a referral centre for all diabetes-related eye complications and equipped to provide laser treatment. The referral system established for this purpose will in addition provide a basis for a patient registry.Targeted outreach screening camps in six different atolls will be conducted twice a year, covering 86 islands of the Maldives. Diabetes patients will be screened for diabetic retinopathy to ensure early detection and treatment. Patients found to be in need of specialised care will be referred to the newly established clinic in Malé.Prior to each screening event, awareness programmes and camps will be run to increase knowledge of the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment regarding diabetes-related eye complications. IEC materials translated into local languages will be provided and education sessions about diabetes will be conducted in the communities.Diabetes educators trained in the 200 islands project (WDF09-423) will be included in the implementation of the screening camps with support from an eye specialist.Additionally, these activities will be supported through a mass media campaign involving TV, radio and written educational materials. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people from six different atolls will be reached through the awareness activities, corresponding to approximately 25% of the total population of the Maldives.No screening and awareness activities have been conducted in the target area till date, which provides a basis for a huge impact in terms of increased knowledge levels and awareness on the importance of early detection of diabetes and its complications.
- Eye clinic established on main island (Malé)- 6 screening and awareness programmes conducted on 6 different islands- 86 eye screening camps conducted on 6 different islands- 107,159 people reached through awareness activities- 4,547 people screened for diabetic retinopathy- 4,637 people referred for eye treatment at eye clinic established on Malé